


Man Cub

by ArcticShadow



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 18:13:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7584808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcticShadow/pseuds/ArcticShadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the panther doesn't sleep tonight</p>
            </blockquote>





	Man Cub

Akihito had always lived with the wolves. He knew he wasn't one himself, that was obvious from the lack of fuzzy ears or a bushy tail, but that didn't stop them from being a pack. His mother had taken him in when he was just a baby. She had just given birth to a litter of her own and didn't mind adding a man cub to her children. She was the kindest person Akihito knew. His father, the alpha of the pack, was serious and strict, but kind in his own way, although it was hard to see sometimes.

Aki loved his family, but there was a problem; he grew slower than all of his siblings. It wasn't by much, but he was physically the same age as the litter born a few years after his mother had taken him in. It made things a bit awkward, and gave him a bit of an inferiority complex. It confused Aki a bit as to why he didn't grow as fast as they did. They looked just the same as he did, walking on two legs and holding things in their hands, except they had claws and fangs and longer tongues and more hair. Why did having fur mean they grew faster? It didn't make sense. But it was the way things were, so he did his best to be happy with it.

There was one thing that he was glad he didn't have that they did, though. Everybody but his youngest siblings and him had heats and mating seasons and stuff. It was like they went crazy and were different people. Of course, he had a niggle of doubt in his mind that he might get like that once he got big enough, and that terrified him. He would never admit it, of course, and acted all mature in front of his siblings so no one would know. Just because he was weaker than everyone else didn't mean that he had to show it.

Hearing voices, Akihito turned away from the berries he had been secretly snacking on and left the hut to see the hunters return with a few deer carcasses. That amount of meat would last the pack for at least a week, maybe two. Aki licked his lips in anticipation, tasting some leftover berry juice left on his mouth.

The men were joking jovially with one another, their wives and children coming out to greet them. When Aki's father reached their hut, he ruffled Aki's hair affectionately before heading to the back of the hut where Aki's mother was preparing dinner. They greeted one another after his father set the large deer on the ground to be skinned later, but were then mobbed by Aki's siblings jumping on their father in desire to be the first to get a lick on the cheek. Aki laughed before heading over to the pile of bodies.

"Dad, Dad, guess what? I caught a lizard today!" one of his siblings was saying, and another immediately piped in, "Hey, I got two lizards!"

The talking went on for a few minutes before their father finally quieted them all. 'Alright, kids, alright. You were all good for you mother, yes?"

"Yes Daddy," they all responded in unison.

"Did Akihito get into any trouble today?" he then asked and the man cub winced.

"He was acting kinda funny in the house!" one of the kids responded.

"Yeah, and he was in trees that didn't have any fruit in them, just looking at the water," another added. Their father turned to look at Aki with an eyebrow raised. Akihito smiled guiltily; so what if he liked looking at how the light glinted off the small waves in the water, it's not like he was harming anything.

His father sighed, "That's better than most days. Alright, let's get dinner on the table."

The kids scrambled in different directions in order to do their part for the meal. Meanwhile, Aki stood still as he watched his father walk back to him.

"Akihito," the man began, and the boy could already hear the lecture that was about to come, "how many times do I have to tell you to be a good example to your younger siblings?"

"I'm sorry, Dad, I really am trying!" Akihito assured his father. "I'm just recovering from the last wrestling match a couple days ago." The boy then points to a long scratch down his side that mirrors several other light scars. "Once it's healed I can play with them again, I promise!"

"Son, that's not what I mean," his father responds, putting his arm around Aki's shoulder as they walk towards the woods that border their small village. "I don't expect you to wrestle with them, not with how long it takes you to heal. Neither your mother nor I enjoy seeing you wounded or covered with scars. What I mean is that I want you to work hard and not get into things you shouldn't, like the blueberries." His father then gives him a pointed look.

"Stupid wolf noses," the boy mutters before giving a yelp in pain when his father pinches his ear.

"My stupid wolf ears heard that," the man snickers down at Aki. He continues talking as Aki rubs his ear, "Is it too much to expect you to help out more around the village?"

"But the jobs I'm given are all for kids or women. All the other guys my age are either moved out, hunting with you, or learning to hunt," Aki protests. "Can I at least learn how to make weapons or something?"

"Aki, you know that you aren't sturdy or strong enough to hunt," his father sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. They've had this conversation many times before. "You can't do medicine since you hate hurting anything, even if it's to make someone better, and you don't have the strength to make any weapons. That leaves mending huts, making clothes, gathering food, making meals, and watching the kids. You're the best climber, so getting fruits and fronds from trees is perfect for you, and you are very energetic so you can keep up with the kids. I know you don't like to do it, but that is how you can help out the best around here."

"I'm pretty sure the kids are watching over me instead of the other way around," Aki mumbled sullenly.

His father laughed before responding, "Yes, well, that doesn't mean that they can get themselves out of trouble if something happens. They may be more responsible than you, but they are still young and need someone older to protect them. I'm trusting their lives to you, Aki."

Aki hadn't thought of that before. He looked up in surprise at his father's face, who was gazing down at him with both warmth and sincerity.

"Just because you aren't a wolf, Aki, doesn't mean that you don't have the protective instincts of one."

With that, his father patted his back before heading back to the war zone that was dinner prep. Aki stood there for a moment longer before heading over to help with the evening meal.

In the shadows just beyond where he and his father had been talking, a pair of golden eyes stared after the young man.


End file.
